


Fish Outta Water

by darkbluesharpie



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Magic, creature!cas, mermaid au, mermaid!cas
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-19
Updated: 2015-02-18
Packaged: 2018-03-13 16:56:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3389291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkbluesharpie/pseuds/darkbluesharpie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean is a fisherman's son who likes to help his father by freeing the creatures their net grabs by accident.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fish Outta Water

**Author's Note:**

> This has been siting in my documents for ages, and I figured why not finally share it? I have a few other chapter ideas for this verse, so I thought I'd go ahead and post this one. Hope you guys like it! :)

Crisp salt wind bit into his eyes making them water, rearranging his hair with each lazy breeze. The air was rich with the musky smell of seaweed, and the familiar sound of crashing waves and loud fishermen. Dean licked his lips, tasting the salt from the air, and enjoying the warm rays of sunlight as a cloud skated away overhead. He leaned over the side of the ship, filled with excitement as the giant fishing net was raised from the water's depth. It was half full, which was considered a good catch, and the fish started spasming as they were lifted into the air.

Not old enough for "real work," Dean had made it his personal job to rummage through the haul for any creatures that were caught by accident, and toss them back into the ocean's depths. Besides obviously wanting to be helpful in a way that didn't involve cleaning around the boat, Dean loved the occasional creatures that he found, and the sense of accomplishment he got when he returned them safely to the water.

Out here, there were all kinds of exotic and interesting marine life; fish with bright colors, and small creatures with funny shapes, many that Dean didn't even recognize. Once he even freed a small dolphin. That was a good day, watching it fall back into the water, giving a small flip above the waves that Dean took as a 'thank you.'

The large net was raised over the deck off the ship, and Dean stepped away from the railing. It hovered a couple of feet above the floor, about to be released, when Dean heard an abrupt strident crash rent the air on the far side of the ship. Craning his neck around to see what had happened, he stilled when he felt a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Stay here, keep out of trouble," the man standing behind him ordered before sprinting off to discern the cause of the disturbance. John Winchester was the ship's captain, and Dean's only parent. Dean wanted to follow him, he wanted to help, but he knew better than to disregard a direct order. Most of the whole crew was now on the other side of the ship, leaving Dean alone and feeling useless.

Mostly to distract himself from worry than anything else, he turned to the net, examining it's contents; maybe he would save another dolphin.

Wanting to keep the commotion in his line-of-sight, Dean moved to the opposite side of the net. The whole bundle was twitching and flopping, desperate to shake free. Eyes roamed over the catch, hoping for something unusual to catch his eye; a bright color, or an odd shape attached to something that didn't belong in the bundle.

It was on the far side of net that Dean finally noticed something odd- a small portion that was strangely still, isolated from the rest of the catch. He walked to that area, and that was when he saw it- a flesh colored hand gripping tight to the net.

Shock jolted him forward until he was standing in front of a young boy trapped under the ropes. Dean was about to shout for help ( _a person was caught in their net!_ ), but he stopped himself. Because it wasn't a person at all.

He stared gape-mouthed at the boy under the web of rope; at first glance, he looked like a kid his own age, no more than ten. His eyes explored the colors under the boy's waist- different shades of bright blues and shimmery grays- before he realized the shape they were in and what it was; attached at the boy's waist were _scales_ , scales that formed a long and glittering tail. It was hard to see properly, as it had folded in on itself, entangled against the rope and buried under many fish, but there was no mistaking it.

They had caught a _mermaid._

Dean's eyes traveled up to his face, really looking at him for the first time. His eyes were as blue and bright as his scales, staring wide and tear-filled at Dean. They held so much fear. Dean knew what he had to do before even thinking about it.

He withdrew a knife from his pocket and took a step towards the mermaid. The boy flinched at the sight of the blade and gave a small cry of panic, trying fruitlessly to back away into the confines of the net and away from Dean. Dean stopped, and raised his hands, palms facing outward in what he hoped the boy recognized as a sign of reassurance.

"It's okay," he whispered. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

He gingerly inched forward until he was standing right by the net, meeting him at eye level. At this proximity, he could see more scales dotting over the boy's pale skin, lining along his temples and knuckles. His shaking hands were still clenched tight on the ropes that were binding him, and Dean could make out the webbing between his fingers; his eyes trailed down his wrists where another bluish gray fin edged along each of his arms. Dean peaked around the net; his father and the rest of the crew were still distracted at the other end of the boat, but whatever problem had arisen earlier was being resolved. He needed to hurry.

His eyes studied the ropes, searching for some sort of give. He needed something that he could scrape at so the break would appear to have been caused by gradual wear and tear, and not cut by a knife. There was one to the left of the young mermaid's head. He looked back into his eyes before he raised his knife again.

"Don't be scared, I'm gonna get you out of here," Dean told him, and even though he doubted he even understood a word of what he was saying, but he saw the fear in the boy's eyes fade to caution as he started whittling away at the rope, snapping the strings unevenly.

After a few tense seconds, the rope gave way, creating a hole Dean believed was large enough for the captured mermaid to squeeze through.

"Come _on_ ," Dean urged him, but the boy didn't move.

Dean had heard stories from fishermen over the years of what happened to rare creatures when they were captured, and while his dad might not be so cruel, he didn't want to think what the others might want to do with a mermaid. Sell him on the black market, chop off his tail and mount it on a wall, skin him for his scales, lock him away in a tank; the options were numerous, and on different levels of disturbing. Dean could _not_ let that happen. He didn't know this creature, but he knew he had to protect him.

" _Please_ ," Dean whispered. "You have to hurry."

Dean could almost see the thought process of the boy in front of him, could see him debating whether or not to trust him. Suddenly, he reached a trembling hand though the hole at Dean who took it in his own, and helped the creature squirm his way towards the opening.

When most of his upper body was cleared, the boy exchanged his grasp of the net for Dean's shoulder, heaving the rest of himself out of the trap. His tail flopped to the ground, and Dean wrapped an arm around his waist, supporting his whole body weight, which was much heavier than Dean had anticipated. For his part, the boy clung tight to Dean's shoulders, wrapping much of his tail around Dean's waist as he could.

Dean spared no time, stumbling as he carried the young mermaid to the edge of the ship, and setting him on one of the crates there. They looked at each other again, and Dean was glad to see the fear completely gone from his face, replaced with a look of curiosity, his head tilted to the side. It occurred to him that Dean must be just as strange and new to this creature as he was to Dean.

Suddenly, the creature gripped Dean's face with both of his cold, but steady hands, and held him still as soft lips pressed against his. Dean startled, and pulled back, but not before the mermaid had succeeded in kissing him. His first reaction was to wipe his mouth on the back of his hand, and look indignant and angry, but he was distracted.

"Thank you for helping me."

All Dean could do was stare at the mermaid, surprised that he had understood him after all.

"Dean?" a voice called out. Heavy boots sounded, growing louder with each soft thump, the telltale sound of John Winchester approaching. Dean snapped back to the present situation, and urgency pulsed through him. This mermaid needed to get out of here before if was too late.

"You have to go," Dean gave an encouraging push towards the water, but the boy didn't budge. "Now!"

Instead of moving towards the railing and tipping himself over, the boy ducked his head slightly, hands coming around to grab a thin rope that Dean just noticed hanging around his neck. Before Dean could make out what it was, the mermaid donned it over his crown. He felt the small pendant on the chain hit his chest, but before he could look down, the boy gently held his face in his hands again and looked into his eyes. Just as Dean thought he was about to try and kiss him again, the mermaid mumbled something in a language Dean didn't understand.

A with a quick, fluid movement, the boy bent over the railing, scales scintillating in the sunlight as he dove head first into the rocky waves below. Dean watched in awe as the white splash below faded until there wasn't a trace left. He stared at the water intently, scanning for a pale hand, a shimmering fin, but the boy did not resurface. The mermaid was gone. Dean didn't know whether to be glad or disappointed.

He started when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"What's the matter, boy, you look like you've seen a ghost," his father joked.

"Is everything okay?" Dean asked, hoping to look as though he was not doing anything suspicious.

"Yeah, some equipment broke down, you stay here and help Bobby sort the fish while I go take care of it."

With a 'yes, sir,' from his son, John turned and walked back to the much smaller group of people still at the damage site. Dean followed his orders as Bobby, second in command and his father's best friend, lowered the net to release their catch on the deck, then walked over to scan the fish with Dean.

"No dolphins in need of rescue this time," Bobby laughed, cuffing Dean on the shoulder.

Dean grinned back, a hand moving to hold the small pendant now hanging around his neck.


End file.
